Notice anything about the Cubs` September callups...

Third baseman Gary Scott, the onetime phenom of the Cubs` organization, was back home in Pennsylvania until Saturday.

Well, better late than never.

But the afterthought callup can mean only one thing: His career with the Cubs is at a dead end.

After building him up as the long-sought heir to Ron Santo at third base, the Cubs gave Scott three brief chances to make it in the big leagues. He failed all three times.

Scott played in just 31 games last season and was batting a feeble .165 when he was sent back to the minors. He came back this year, was the Opening Day starter at third base for the second season in a row and lasted just 13 games before he was shipped back to Triple A with an even worse .091 average. A spate of injuries convinced the Cubs to recall Scott on June 1, but he was sent down for good four weeks later still batting just .144.

Ten days after that last demotion, the Cubs traded left-handed pitcher Danny Jackson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for third baseman Steve Buechele, who appears to have sealed Scott`s fate.

``We got Buechele because we felt we needed a third baseman, and he`s played very well for us,`` said Cubs General Manager Larry Himes. ``I think he will be here for the duration of his contract (three years).

``I`m sure that`s a blow to Gary, but we really haven`t given up on him. We hope he can come to spring training next year and have a productive season.``

But if Scott has a productive year in the majors, it almost surely will be with some team other than the Cubs.

``By them not calling me up, it kind of gives me an idea of where I stand,`` said Scott by telephone Friday. ``I want to be a big-league baseball player, and the immediate team I had my sights set on was the Cubs. But there are 27 other teams besides the Cubs, and I want to be with any team that could use my services.

``Whether it`s an expansion team, or a trade, or back up with Chicago, I`m just looking for an opportunity.``

He didn`t get much of an opportunity with the Cubs. When he was sent down after 31 games in 1991 and then again after 13 games early this season, the Cubs said they couldn`t afford the luxury of letting him evolve into a big-league hitter because the team was doing so poorly.

During his second stint with the team this year, the Cubs were playing good baseball. They were eight games worse than .500 and in sixth place when Scott reported back to Wrigley Field on June 1. They climbed back to .500 for the first time since April and were in second place when management again gave up on him.

Scott played 16 games during that stretch and was only 9 for 46 (.196), but the team was on a roll and he felt he contributed.

``All of a sudden I didn`t play one day, and then I was gone,`` said Scott. ``That was kind of interesting.``

But Himes says regardless of how the team was going, the bottom line is Scott failed to produce.

``There was a glaring deficit there,`` said Himes. ``Fans see that. Everybody sees that. Gary might have been puzzled by our decision, but I think when a team gets closer (to playing well), then expectations become even higher.

``Maybe he just wasn`t prepared. Maybe he was rushed. But there was a glaring deficit there.``

Sounds as if the phenom will be getting a new start somewhere else.

Dodger doings: Everybody has just assumed that former shortstop Bill Russell has the inside track to succeed Tommy Lasorda as manager of the Dodgers. Maybe not. Phil Regan, a relief pitcher with the Cubs from 1969-72 and a senior scout with the Dodgers in recent years, is being mentioned of late. Regan, 55, would be a surprise choice over Russell, who has managed the Dodgers` Triple-A club at Albuquerque the last six seasons and was 1-1 as interim manager of the big-league club for two games last season. The scenario that has Regan moving in as manager also has Lasorda going to the front office as general manager with current GM Fred Claire being shifted laterally. Lasorda had been mentioned as possible manager of the Giants if they move to Florida. But that was before Lasorda`s good friend, Vince Piazza, one of the key investors in the Florida franchise, withdrew from the team syndicate after a background check.

Dumping on Dibble: Cubs Manager Jim Lefebvre thinks Cincinnati reliever Rob Dibble is a talented pitcher, the kind of closer the Cubs really need. But Lefebvre flat out says he wouldn`t want Dibble in his clubhouse-particularly after the ugly incident last week when Dibble and his manager, Lou Piniella, got into a yelling and wrestling match in front of reporters and television cameras. ``I have no interest in (Dibble) at all,`` said Lefebvre, who has said several times in recent weeks he is interested in finding a reliable closer. ``Who wants to put up with his kind of stuff? His antics are documented. The guy has enormous ability. But you just don`t want to create problems that could affect the atmosphere in the clubhouse.``